The blood contains lipoprotein particles, including high-density lipoprotein (HDL), intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). Constituents of these lipoprotein particles include cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoproteins, etc. Probably the most important of these apolipoproteins is apolipoprotein B (apoB).
In another article on this website, we discussed the practical details of evaluating patients’ lipid profiles. For more on this, please see the following article on this website:
The lipid panel (profile): Why, when, and how to order it
But two other important tests related to a person’s lipid profile and risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease are NOT included in the standard lipid panels that are very commonly ordered. These are serum lipoprotein(a) and apolipoprotein B (apoB).
For a brief primer on serum lipoprotein(a), please see the following article on this website:
A brief primer on lipoprotein(a)
On this page, let’s go over some key things that clinicians should know about testing for apolipoprotein B (apoB).
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